obituaries

Remembering Chuck Yeager, Pilot Who Broke The Sound Barrier

1:37pm December 08, 2020

by Terry Gross

The legendary aviator, who died Dec. 7, served as a fighter pilot in World War II. Later, as a test pilot, he was the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound. Originally broadcast in 1988.

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Chuck Yeager, standing next to the "Glamorous Glennis," the Bell X-1 experimental plane in which he first broke the sound barrier.

National

Pilot Chuck Yeager Dies At 97, Had 'The Right Stuff' And Then Some

11:28pm December 07, 2020

by Russell Lewis

Chuck Yeager has died: Fighter ace, test pilot, breaker of the sound barrier, coolest of the cool — he was the man even astronauts looked up to. NPR's Russell D. Lewis has this remembrance.

Jerrold Post, A Man Who Analyzed World Leaders' Minds For CIA, Dies At 86

4:46pm December 07, 2020

Longtime CIA psychiatrist Jerrold Post has died of COVID-19 at 86. Post analyzed foreign leaders for U.S. intelligence agencies and the White House. He later controversially profiled President Trump.

Betsy Wade, 1st Woman To Edit News At 'The New York Times,' Dies At 91

3:54pm December 04, 2020

NPR pays tribute to Betsy Wade, the first woman to edit news at The New York Times and lead the Newspaper Guild of New York. She died on Thursday at age 91.

Miguel Algarin, Force Behind New York's Beloved Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Dies At 79

5:01am December 04, 2020

by Mandalit del Barco

Poet Miguel Algarin, founder of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, has died at age 79. His Lower East Side performance space was known for its collective of poets, musicians, actors and activists.

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Rafer Johnson, Olympic Decathlon Champion, Dies At 86

4:10pm December 03, 2020

NPR remembers Rafer Johnson, an Olympic champion in the decathlon, who died this week at age 86.

Former French President ValÃ©ry Giscard d'Estaing, pictured in 2017, died Wednesday in Paris at age 94.

World News

Former French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Dies, Age 94

8:15pm December 02, 2020

The third president of the French Fifth Republic, Giscard d'Estaing expanded his nation's use of nuclear power and high-speed rail, but lost his bid for a second term.

Coronavirus Victims: North Carolina College Student Jamesha Waddell

3:54pm November 30, 2020

Jamesha Waddell, a senior at Livingstone College in North Carolina, spent nearly two months in the hospital with COVID-19. She died in November at age 23.

British actor David Prowse, who played Darth Vader in the first Star Wars trilogy, poses with a fan dressed in a Darth Vader costume during a Star Wars convention on April 27, 2013. On Sunday morning, Prowse's management company shared the news of his dea

Arts

David Prowse, Actor Behind Darth Vader, Dies At 85

11:35am November 29, 2020

by Suzanne Nuyen

Audiences heard James Earl Jones' voice as the iconic Star Wars villain, but it was Prowse behind Darth Vader's mask.

Sports

Filmmaker Richard Sanders Remembers Soccer Player Diego Maradona

7:14am November 26, 2020

Legendary soccer player Diego Maradona has died at the age of 60. NPR's David Greene speaks to filmmaker Richard Sanders about Maradona's life.

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